About Us
The Metro Wastewater Reclamation District is a regional government formed under Colorado law in 1961. It provides wholesale wastewater transmission and treatment service to 58 local governments in the Denver metropolitan area. These local governments provide retail wastewater services to approximately 1.5 million people.
 Wastewater Treatment Process
The Metro District collects about 160 million gallons of wastewater per day from neighborhood sewer lines and delivers it through approximately 250 miles of interceptor sewers to the Metro District’s Central Treatment Plant in northeast Denver. About 8 to 10 hours are needed to treat the wastewater before discharging it into the South Platte River. More than 95 percent of the pollutants are removed, making the treated water suitable for agriculture, fish and aquatic life, industrial use, water supply, and recreation.
Primary treatment removes pollutants from wastewater through screening, skimming, and settling. Secondary treatment uses microorganisms to remove suspended and dissolved organic matter. The treated water is then disinfected to kill harmful microorganisms (pathogens) before it is discharged into the South Platte River.
In 1990, the Metro District began advanced treatment of about half its effluent to remove ammonia before discharging it into the River. By removing ammonia, more dissolved oxygen is available in the River, making it able to better support aquatic life.
The Metro District removes and concentrates solids from the primary and secondary treatment processes and sends this mixture to anaerobic digesters where it is stabilized. The stabilized solids, now called biosolids, can then be used as soil amendments to enrich agricultural lands. The Metro District produces about 74 dry tons of biosolids daily and applies it to both private and Metro District-owned land. The digestion process also produces methane gas, which is used to operate a combined heat and power facility composed of gas turbines and a heat recovery hot water system. The gas turbines produce electricity, and the waste heat is used to heat the digesters and several other buildings at the Metro District’s Central Treatment Plant.
About 95 percent of the Metro District's biosolids are applied to agricultural land as a “cake” that is 22 percent solid. Biosolids are also used to make compost. The nutrient and organically rich products are marketed under the METROGRO™ trade name and help to enrich Colorado's thin soils and prevent erosion. Strict federal and state regulations govern application of biosolids to Metro District and privately-owned agricultural land.
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Additional Facts
The Metro District serves 58 local governments, including both cities and sanitation districts. Of these local governments, 20 are Metro District members that have voting representation on the Metro District's Board of Directors, 24 are special connectors that have direct contracts with the Metro District, and the remaining entities are served indirectly through members and special connectors.
The chief executive officers of the member governments appoint members to the Metro District’s Board of Directors, with one director for each 25,000 population in the represented area. While special connectors are not represented on the Board, they receive the same services as members at the same cost.
The cost of transmission and treatment service is based upon the amount (flow) and strength (loadings) of the wastewater each customer puts into the Metro District's system.
The Metro District's service area encompasses about 380 square miles, including all of Denver, parts of Adams, Arapahoe, and Jefferson counties, and about 40 sanitation, water, and sanitation special districts. The Metro District’s Central Treatment Plant is the largest wastewater treatment facility between the Mississippi River and the West Coast.
Until 1990, the Metro Wastewater Reclamation District was known as Metropolitan Denver Sewage Disposal District No. 1, the name it was given when it was formed under state law in 1961. Construction on the Central Treatment Plant and 50 miles of interceptor sewer lines began in 1964, and the plant began operating in 1966.
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